Deacetylation of 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol in wheat flour is mediated by water-soluble proteins during the making of Chinese steamed bread

Abstract To find the determining factors for 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-ADON) deacetylation during wheat-based food production, wheat flours with different heat treatments, different matrixes of the starch-gluten mixture, and different protein fractions (Osborne classification) were evaluated. The deacetylation behavior of 3-ADON was significantly suppressed for heat-treated wheat flours, indicating that heating induced change of the functional or chemical properties of wheat grain components, especially for proteins. Among the different matrixes, only 3% of the 3-ADON in starch was converted to DON, however, this value reached 60–75% for wheat flour. The results showed that proteins were responsible for the deacetylation of 3-ADON. After separation, only albumins mediated the deacetylation of 3-ADON into DON in four protein fractions. The proteins were identified by LC–MS/MS, and the results suggested that cytochrome P450, acetylesterase and histone deacetylase were the potential targeted enzymes that mediated the deacetylation of 3-ADON during dough preparation for wheat-based food production.